Adventures in Pesto Bread

 

I'm calling this post "Adventures in Pesto Bread" because the although the recipe for pesto is ready to go, the recipe for the bread aspect of it needs some tweaking. It's mostly because I don't have an enriched white bread recipe that I'm 100% happy with. I have basic white recipes and a whole slew of oatmeal and whole wheat recipes that I bake on a weekly rotation, but the enriched white still eludes me.

Maybe I'm too picky but I want the bread to be soft and almost peel-able but still have structure for add-ins (such as pesto) and I want it to be flavorful but not too sweet. This version is soft and strong but a little bit too sweet and a little bit rich/heavy on the butter/oil.

Overall the bread was delicious..really really delicious. It's pesto swirled inside homemade bread how could it not be tasty? But something was not exactly what I was looking for and I know that it was because I haven't paired it up with the right bread dough yet. Guess I better make a few more batches (not exactly a terrible fate)

 

The pesto itself was amazing in the way that only homemade pesto can be. In fact, out of the container that I made for bread recipe experiments over 3/4s of it made it's way into my lunches and dinners and even on my eggs in the morning. Looks like I will also have to make more pesto

Good thing it's ridiculously easy to make. Just need fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, lemon zest, garlic, and olive oil and a handy-dandy food processor (is it wrong to be in love with a piece of kitchen equipment??)

 

For this version I toasted the pine nuts until slightly golden to bring out more of their flavor.

 

Then I ground up the nuts, basil, and garlic in the mini bowl of the food processor...

 

...then slowly poured a steady stream of olive oil into the herb and but mixture. The cheese got added in next and after a few pluses the pesto was ready to go.

 

It's tasty the day that you make it, but I prefer the flavor on the second day after the garlic and cheese and basil have had time to all meld together.

Then I promised myself to not eat it all (and managed to salvage about 1/4 of this batch for bread)

 

 

The oil in pesto makes it too heavy to just do a regular swirl with in a loaf of bread. As it bakes the swirl will sag and you'll end up with a big empty shell at the top and a squished looking swirl at the bottom. To avoid that I rolled out the dough relatively thinly and then spread a layer of the pesto over the entire thing.

 

 

Then I rolled up the dough and cut it into two equal pieces and pinches the edges of those pieces shut.

 

I used those two pieces to make a twist (like you do with babka or coconut swirl bread) and left it in the pan to rise.

 

 

It smelled amazing in the oven. Fresh bread, garlic, basil, and cheese all making my kitchen smell like some sort of Italian restaurant. They came out golden brown with a great rise.

It was torturous waiting for it to cool for an hour before slicing into it to see what pattern the pesto had made. I had my fingers crossed that it wasn't just a beautiful golden shell with a mush of squished bread and pesto inside.

 

Voila! Twisting the two spirals not only makes a pretty pattern but also helps the bread get a little bit more structure.

The holes make it not the best choice for a sandwich but it made an amazing base for my poached egg and avocado in the morning. Then the perfect side with my soup for lunch.

If you already have an enriched white bread recipe that you love then I suggest filling it with some pesto and enjoying this delicious bread. Meanwhile, I'll be in my kitchen happy to have an excuse to bake an absurd amount of bread.

 

Basil Pesto

1/3 cup pine nuts

 2 cups fresh basil

2 large cloves of garlic

zest of one lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Lay the pine nuts on a cookie sheet and roast in oven until lightly browned (takes a few minutes. Keep checking the nuts and shaking the sheet to roll them over)

2. In a food processor place the roasted pine nuts, basil, lemon zest, and garlic. Pulse until finely chopped. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl.

3. Turn the food processor on and pour the olive oil in a steady thin stream down the feed tube. Continue until all of the oil has been added.

4. Pulse in the Parmesan cheese until combined. Store in the fridge.

If the rolling and shaping technique for the bread isn't clear enough in this post I also do step by step photos in this post. It is the same but you don't slice the rolled dough in half before twisting it

 

Comments

[Emma]

This is a lovely idea, and it turned out beautifully. Look at those proud towering loaves, unaware that they aren't your dream enriched white bread recipe!

[Chef Angela Carlino]

I love this!

[Melissa@EyesBigger]

I think they look absolutely gorgeous. I'm such a scaredy cat with bread. but I have a ton of beautiful basil that I will be turning into pesto this summer :)

[Becs @ Lay the table]

Whatever you thought of the texture/flavour, it still looks gorgeous! I love the two roll effect. Bet that would taste great with a bit of balsamic and olive oil :)

[bergamot]

Looks really wonderful

[noobcook]

I love pesto, so I know I will definitely love this bread. looks so pretty too.

[Shauna @Satori Design for Living]

Yum! A friend of mine just sent me a link to your blog and I'm glad to have found it! I think we live pretty close to each other and I'd love for you to guest post some time!

[Julia]

The bread is gorgeous!!! I want to take a big ol' bite of my computer screen.

[Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough]

Love to see a fellow bread baker! :) This bread looks delicious and pretty!

[Rigel_p]

Wonderful idea!
I can't stop thinking about how perfect this would be as an eggs benny base.

[JS]

I have to say, your photos are getting better and better all the time.

[TasteHongKong]

I could see the loaf is nicely peel-able, and don't think I need to add more herbs to the soup : ).

[Dessert By Candy]

What a combination! Definitely not something we can pick up at a store. Quite refreshing that you pair pesto with an enriched white bread into a loaf rather than the more obvious choice of foccacia. I think I'll try it with ricotta bread. I used Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe before and it certainly has that peel/flaky texture you mentioned.

Here is a link to her recipe in case you want to give it a try: http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2007/07/food_processor_ricotta_bliss_b.html

And a crumb shot to give you an idea: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wscwong/5340759696/in/photostream/

[Jessica @ bake me away!]

Ahh!! It is so gorgeous!! I'm imagining it with mozzarella and tomatoes. Yummm.

[Darina]

Great job. And what a good idea.

[Russell van Kraayenburg]

Cool! I love this idea.

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[Lisa @ The Gonzo Gourmet]

You're so right about the greatness of peeling bread away - sometimes I think about what I'll miss going gluten-free, and as odd as it sounds, peeling bread is one of those things. Pretzels, too. If you come across a light g-free bread recipe please share. Your pesto bread is lovely, I think I might adapt that idea to flatbread. I like eggs on toast, too!

[Linda]

Gorgeous!

[Phil]

Wow, and here I am with some extra pesto and nothing to do with it. This looks great! I think I may try it this weekend.

[Maggie Muggins]

Oh yum, I’ve been wanting to try something like this for ages! I do believe I have some sundried tomato pesto calling out to me. It looks so delicious and holes or not I still think it would make a kick ass sandwich.

[table top fridge]

Love this, looks really wonderful

[Nike Free Run]

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[cooking rookie]

looks so yummy!

[Mallory @ Because I Like Chocolate]

I am compiling a Canadian Thanksgiving Link Love post for this coming Friday and I am definitely including this as a bread recipe! Yum!!!